Yes, very heavy and very loud. The drums are small - 18 bass, 14, 12, 10 and 8 toms, 13 by 4 snare - but they have the weight and sound of much larger drums. They're also square sized, so you really hear the ironwood sound. I promise I will get some sound clips up soon.

Aydee, that is a pretty cool tree you photographed. Ironwood is a generic name for any extremely hard wood, but I bet you could make a shell out of just about any kind of wood. I believe the heaviest, densest woods come from hot, dry climates. Something tells me ironwood is too dense to be shaved into plies so staves or solid shell would be the only way to go.

Drumsword, I know you are a spiritual person. When I got these shells I did thank God for creating the tree and for safeguarding the loggers and craftsmen to risked their safety to create the drums. The tree was about 300 years in the making and I will cherish these drums for the rest of my life.

Here is a long-awaited sound file of me playing the Kahuna Set a couple of days ago. Forgive the sound quality - it was recorded with one of those little Yamaha Pocketrak 300, set about 10 feet from the kit, mic sensitivity about half, medium sound quality.

Yes, the screaming is my 2-year-old daughter. Kids that age have an Adult Enjoyment Sensor and if they know you have having any fun that does not involve them, they will start screaming. I hope it doesn't distract from the sound clip too much.

Nice feel. I liked your work on the toms while keep a ride cymbal pattern going over the top. When you moved to the hi-hats but the kept the same pattern going, I was confused as to how before I remembered you play open-handed. : ) Nice swing feel.

__________________
"If you think you're more important than the drums, you've got another thing coming." -Tony Williams

Nice feel. I liked your work on the toms while keep a ride cymbal pattern going over the top. When you moved to the hi-hats but the kept the same pattern going, I was confused as to how before I remembered you play open-handed. : ) Nice swing feel.

Thanks. I always took it for granted that I could play patterns on the toms while keeping a ride pattern going but now that you mention it, it would be impossible to do playing crossed.

Here is a long-awaited sound file of me playing the Kahuna Set a couple of days ago. Forgive the sound quality - it was recorded with one of those little Yamaha Pocketrak 300, set about 10 feet from the kit, mic sensitivity about half, medium sound quality.

Thanks - I like the "greasy" description for the swing because it does have that feel.

Below are the three clips I have so far - the swing-type playing and a song we call James Bond in Matanzas. I was playing my left-foot clave rhythm and this keyboardist I play with started playing along. It's a rough first cut and we are going to refine it. Blue Veil is a song on the Hang Drum.

OK, I think I have figured it out now - just use the paper clip for attachments in the posting tools.

Below are the three clips I have so far - the swing-type playing and a song we call James Bond in Matanzas. I was playing my left-foot clave rhythm and this keyboardist I play with started playing along. It's a rough first cut and we are going to refine it. Blue Veil is a song on the Hang Drum.

OK, I think I have figured it out now - just use the paper clip for attachments in the posting tools.

Below are the three clips I have so far - the swing-type playing and a song we call James Bond in Matanzas. I was playing my left-foot clave rhythm and this keyboardist I play with started playing along. It's a rough first cut and we are going to refine it. Blue Veil is a song on the Hang Drum.

Ill trade you my ludwig stock snare for your whole drumset. It's a great deal, I say take it

HAHA! Yeah, I thought about it seroiusly - for a nanosecond. I doubt these drums are even being made anymore. There's about a dozen sets in existence, maybe a few hundred snares and hand drums. Luckily, if my house burned down, the shells would make it through because ironwood is pretty flame resistant.

These are awesome drums. I have had this theory for a while about making drum but never had the tools for the execution.

There's a reason why solid shell drums are so rare (although they were common for thousands of years, and still dominate to this day in some parts of the world).

They're a lot heavier, they take more work to make and they are vulnerable to splitting and cracking. Plywood is far superior for strength and durability - why do you think they make houses out of wood composites like plywood and particle board? Staves are a good compromise, miximizing the advantages of solid and ply and minimizing the disadvantages of each.

The denser the wood, the lower the moisture content and the less susceptible shells will be to cracking, so ironwood is ideal for solid shells. To make solid shells, you need really specialized machinery, the right kind of wood and the logs have to cure for months. There should probably be an easier way to do it with modern technology but no one is devoting a lot or research to this.

OK, I think I have figured it out now - just use the paper clip for attachments in the posting tools.

Below are the three clips I have so far - the swing-type playing and a song we call James Bond in Matanzas. I was playing my left-foot clave rhythm and this keyboardist I play with started playing along. It's a rough first cut and we are going to refine it. Blue Veil is a song on the Hang Drum.

I had the pleasure of playing this kit a while ago and I can say that these sound clips, while great, don't even begin to do it justice. It looks far more incredible to the naked eye, also. They weigh several ton too, but that's just helping advance DMC's bodybuilding career.

The first clip is cool...very 'nawlins! It would be killer w/ a horn section.

The second has a nice left-foot clave going, far out!

That third one sounds ODDLY familiar. ;)

It's not your personal preference but I definitely would tune them tighter myself, too. I can just imagine how hard it is to control the overtones coming out of those mighty shells though. I'd toss some coated over clears and make 'em sing like a choir.

Hi,
First, love the kit! Awesome indeed! Next, I'm new to this forum, so I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a drummer who has not played in several years due to illness and pretty bad nerve damage in my legs, primarily R leg, so bass drum was severely affected, and I was having great difficulty with playing in time. I had a delay in the time between when my brain would tell my foot to play and the time my foot would actually play! I recently began playing again as it really has been therapeutic in my recovery and I'm getting better the last year or so as well as I have found a doctor who is fairly successful in treating my condition.
I had sold off my acoustic set that I had for over 25 years (a vintage Slingerland set) to a recording studio and bought an electronic set to use for recording. I didn't spend much because I had no idea if I would be able to play or not. I got an Alesis DM-5 and some Hart Dynamics pads. I got a dualist pedal mainly due to my physical difficulties.
The problem I am having with the pedal is that no matter how I adjust it I keep getting double hits on the pad. Either with the single or double mode this will happen, not every time, but often. I thought maybe it was just my leg, but now that I'm getting stronger it's still happening. I even tried loosening the head of the pad, did not help..Today I also tried throwing a cloth over the head, with no results except to mute some of my original hits..
I don't have much experience with electronic drums at all, as I have only had these a few months and these are the 1st I've ever played. Oh, and I have the cymbals with them as well. They sound better than I thought they would, as the ones I heard back in th 90's sounded awful, I guess they've improved them significantly.
My husbands band will be seeking a drummer soon and I used to play with them over 8 years ago and was thinking of trying out again, but I need to resolve this issue and work on the set list if I'm going to even consider it.
I went to the website (dualist) and they had nothing there to assist me, and from the searches I've seen so far here, no one seems to like this pedal much, and refers to people who use it as "cheating"..but, in my case I am trying to compensate for physical disability, so without some sort of help, I won't be playing at all..kind of like def leopards drummer..if you will. I didn't hear anyone calling him a cheater!! (just joking)
Anyway, if anyone has any ideas of what I might do to get this thing working right I'd really appreciate it.
I didn't really understand some of the terminology of the other bass drum threads I read, I never really considered how I moved my foot before I guess...never broke it all down..Just played. I really need to though. With the way I'm having to relearn everything now, it's very frustrating..it really is.
Any tips on using the dualist are welcome as well.
Thanks!

Hi,
First, love the kit! Awesome indeed! Next, I'm new to this forum, so I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a drummer who has not played in several years due to illness and pretty bad nerve damage in my legs, primarily R leg, so bass drum was severely affected, and I was having great difficulty with playing in time. I had a delay in the time between when my brain would tell my foot to play and the time my foot would actually play! I recently began playing again as it really has been therapeutic in my recovery and I'm getting better the last year or so as well as I have found a doctor who is fairly successful in treating my condition.
I had sold off my acoustic set that I had for over 25 years (a vintage Slingerland set) to a recording studio and bought an electronic set to use for recording. I didn't spend much because I had no idea if I would be able to play or not. I got an Alesis DM-5 and some Hart Dynamics pads. I got a dualist pedal mainly due to my physical difficulties.
The problem I am having with the pedal is that no matter how I adjust it I keep getting double hits on the pad. Either with the single or double mode this will happen, not every time, but often. I thought maybe it was just my leg, but now that I'm getting stronger it's still happening. I even tried loosening the head of the pad, did not help..Today I also tried throwing a cloth over the head, with no results except to mute some of my original hits..
I don't have much experience with electronic drums at all, as I have only had these a few months and these are the 1st I've ever played. Oh, and I have the cymbals with them as well. They sound better than I thought they would, as the ones I heard back in th 90's sounded awful, I guess they've improved them significantly.
My husbands band will be seeking a drummer soon and I used to play with them over 8 years ago and was thinking of trying out again, but I need to resolve this issue and work on the set list if I'm going to even consider it.
I went to the website (dualist) and they had nothing there to assist me, and from the searches I've seen so far here, no one seems to like this pedal much, and refers to people who use it as "cheating"..but, in my case I am trying to compensate for physical disability, so without some sort of help, I won't be playing at all..kind of like def leopards drummer..if you will. I didn't hear anyone calling him a cheater!! (just joking)
Anyway, if anyone has any ideas of what I might do to get this thing working right I'd really appreciate it.
I didn't really understand some of the terminology of the other bass drum threads I read, I never really considered how I moved my foot before I guess...never broke it all down..Just played. I really need to though. With the way I'm having to relearn everything now, it's very frustrating..it really is.
Any tips on using the dualist are welcome as well.
Thanks!

Welcome to the forum, we're glad to have you here. We will be glad to assist in anyway we can to help you out, as for cheating you need to do what works for you, and don't worry about what anyone here thinks. There are 10,000 different options to every drum set and as many opinions about them and everyone of them is correct (For the person that utilizes them). Experiment, practice and follow your percussive calling and conquer ur limitations and whatever works to make that happen....Awesome. As for the dualist..I have no opinion, never played one :(

Hi,
First, love the kit! Awesome indeed! Next, I'm new to this forum, so I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a drummer who has not played in several years due to illness and pretty bad nerve damage in my legs, primarily R leg, so bass drum was severely affected, and I was having great difficulty with playing in time. I had a delay in the time between when my brain would tell my foot to play and the time my foot would actually play! I recently began playing again as it really has been therapeutic in my recovery and I'm getting better the last year or so as well as I have found a doctor who is fairly successful in treating my condition.
I had sold off my acoustic set that I had for over 25 years (a vintage Slingerland set) to a recording studio and bought an electronic set to use for recording. I didn't spend much because I had no idea if I would be able to play or not. I got an Alesis DM-5 and some Hart Dynamics pads. I got a dualist pedal mainly due to my physical difficulties.
The problem I am having with the pedal is that no matter how I adjust it I keep getting double hits on the pad. Either with the single or double mode this will happen, not every time, but often. I thought maybe it was just my leg, but now that I'm getting stronger it's still happening. I even tried loosening the head of the pad, did not help..Today I also tried throwing a cloth over the head, with no results except to mute some of my original hits..
I don't have much experience with electronic drums at all, as I have only had these a few months and these are the 1st I've ever played. Oh, and I have the cymbals with them as well. They sound better than I thought they would, as the ones I heard back in th 90's sounded awful, I guess they've improved them significantly.
My husbands band will be seeking a drummer soon and I used to play with them over 8 years ago and was thinking of trying out again, but I need to resolve this issue and work on the set list if I'm going to even consider it.
I went to the website (dualist) and they had nothing there to assist me, and from the searches I've seen so far here, no one seems to like this pedal much, and refers to people who use it as "cheating"..but, in my case I am trying to compensate for physical disability, so without some sort of help, I won't be playing at all..kind of like def leopards drummer..if you will. I didn't hear anyone calling him a cheater!! (just joking)
Anyway, if anyone has any ideas of what I might do to get this thing working right I'd really appreciate it.
I didn't really understand some of the terminology of the other bass drum threads I read, I never really considered how I moved my foot before I guess...never broke it all down..Just played. I really need to though. With the way I'm having to relearn everything now, it's very frustrating..it really is.
Any tips on using the dualist are welcome as well.
Thanks!

Welcome to the forum.

I have played a Duallist for a couple of years. If the pedal is in single mode, you should never be getting both beaters to hit - it is impossible. It sounds like the tension needs to be adjusted. Also, can you control the sensitivity of the trigger pad? All it might take is a tiny double bounce to trigger it a second time and if you have nerve damage you could be doing that and not be able to control it. Setting up the Duallist correctly takes weeks of experimentation.

If the physical problems and severe enough, you might want to consider flipping your bass and hihat. Yes, it would be a huge task and you'd have to re-teach your limbs, but it might be worth it. I read once about a famous violinist who burned out his left hand playing too much. He learned to play left handed (right hand fingering, left hand on bow) and within a short time was back to playing concerts.

You might be in the same situation. It might be easier (and sound better) to teach your left foot to play bass and right foot to play hats. You'd be playing open, left hand on snare and right hand on hats and ride. Your hands wouldn't have to switch their roles.

I had the pleasure of playing this kit a while ago and I can say that these sound clips, while great, don't even begin to do it justice. It looks far more incredible to the naked eye, also. They weigh several ton too, but that's just helping advance DMC's bodybuilding career.

The first clip is cool...very 'nawlins! It would be killer w/ a horn section.

The second has a nice left-foot clave going, far out!

That third one sounds ODDLY familiar. ;)

It's not your personal preference but I definitely would tune them tighter myself, too. I can just imagine how hard it is to control the overtones coming out of those mighty shells though. I'd toss some coated over clears and make 'em sing like a choir.

...just dreaming what I'd do if it were my kit. :)

They are actually tighter than they used to be! I like deep drums but I should tune these higher just to find out what they sound like at the upper end of their range. Who knows - I might like them even more at higher tuning. You are right, overtone control makes tuning a lengthy process (I have www.tightscrews.com and that helps a LOT).

That third tune should sound familiar - it's the one we jammed on with you on the ashikos at my pad a few months ago! I'm bummed I didn't tape us so let's get together again soon.

I have to say I agree with Aydee when he says the kit has fantastic aesthetics! That kit has such a tribal/earthy quality to it's appearance. It stands out as a kit that has a "theme" that is more fully actualized than most kits. That ranges from the drum finish, to hardware, drumhead choice and artwork.

I appreciate the fact that the drums are solid. I have to say that places drums IMO in a certain hierarchy.

1. Solid
2. Stave
3. Ply

Up until this thread, the only solid shelled drum I had seen or tried is a Luka snare some time ago. I have to side with the solid/stave crowd that the drums are simply better at transmitting sound than plies and lots of glue.

I also appreciate the hardware they use, as it has minimal lug contact...great for form and function. I bet the shells vibrate so well that the concept of "voice matching" is as irrelevant a concept as it is on my kit. I looked up some specs on "Cooktown ironwood" and it's obviously super dense and hard. That would also make me believe that even if there are some anomalies (moisture, irregularities) that it would be even more prominent than with maple. I don't think that ironwood is especially knotty or flawed.

The inside view of the shell and edges is spectacular! I have to think that inside carving may also help reduce bright reflectivity a little, thanks to the irregular surfaces.

Those drums would be worth the lugging IMO. Bravo!

Incidentally, I noticed you play a duellist. You might be interested in this scan. I found a copy of "drums" from jan/feb 1989 that was laying around in my local mom and pop store. The issue was titled "double bass mania," and I scanned the pedal patents. You might find the lower right hand patent interesting.

I have to say I agree with Aydee when he says the kit has fantastic aesthetics! That kit has such a tribal/earthy quality to it's appearance. It stands out as a kit that has a "theme" that is more fully actualized than most kits. That ranges from the drum finish, to hardware, drumhead choice and artwork.

I appreciate the fact that the drums are solid. I have to say that places drums IMO in a certain hierarchy.

1. Solid
2. Stave
3. Ply

Up until this thread, the only solid shelled drum I had seen or tried is a Luka snare some time ago. I have to side with the solid/stave crowd that the drums are simply better at transmitting sound than plies and lots of glue.

I also appreciate the hardware they use, as it has minimal lug contact...great for form and function. I bet the shells vibrate so well that the concept of "voice matching" is as irrelevant a concept as it is on my kit. I looked up some specs on "Cooktown ironwood" and it's obviously super dense and hard. That would also make me believe that even if there are some anomalies (moisture, irregularities) that it would be even more prominent than with maple. I don't think that ironwood is especially knotty or flawed.

The inside view of the shell and edges is spectacular! I have to think that inside carving may also help reduce bright reflectivity a little, thanks to the irregular surfaces.

Those drums would be worth the lugging IMO. Bravo!

Incidentally, I noticed you play a duellist. You might be interested in this scan. I found a copy of "drums" from jan/feb 1989 that was laying around in my local mom and pop store. The issue was titled "double bass mania," and I scanned the pedal patents. You might find the lower right hand patent interesting.

I have to say, your kit is awesome in every sense of the word!

Thanks for the comments. I think you are right-on in everything you say. You ar very perceptive in noting the theme, hardware principles and other things. You should be a reviewer actually.

Solid shell wood are the rarest of all drum types, but also the most ancient. The main drawback with solid shells is durability. There's a reason plywood is preferred for general construction: it resists warping and cracking and is very strong for its weight. That is the downfall of solid shells (in addition to much more laborious to make and you can't get really thin shells). You can offset the risk of splitting by using very dense woods (harder to work) and curing them thoroughly. But you are dealing with a completely natural, unprocessed piece of organic material and it will never be as reliable as a heavily processed ply shell. Stave drums are a great compromise, being much more durable than solid and much more musical than ply.

The double pedal drawings are awesome! You are right, people have been doing this for a long time. The Duallist is the first design that is switchable, but I have seen a Duallist knock-off that operates on similar principles.

Below are the three clips I have so far - the swing-type playing and a song we call James Bond in Matanzas. I was playing my left-foot clave rhythm and this keyboardist I play with started playing along. It's a rough first cut and we are going to refine it. Blue Veil is a song on the Hang Drum.

Below are the three clips I have so far - the swing-type playing and a song we call James Bond in Matanzas. I was playing my left-foot clave rhythm and this keyboardist I play with started playing along. It's a rough first cut and we are going to refine it. Blue Veil is a song on the Hang Drum.

Aydee and Gruntersdad, the cymbal with silver knob rivets on the wall is an ancient Ludwig hihat (the mate of this cymbal has no knobs). It makes a cool swishing sound when played in hats, comparable to a ride cymbal with rivets.

The thing with jingles to the lower left of the Ludwig cymbal is a standard hihat jingle ring.

Here is a recent recording of my set. The song is in rough mix form and is not included; this is just the drum track and it has not been EQ'd or messed with. Some specs on the recording from the engineer:

DMC, I gotta say the sound spectrum of your kit is the nicest I've ever heard on this forum. The tone of all the drums ( very well tuned too ) and all the cymbals are beautifully selected and the timbre of each piece is fantastic.
Nice playing too.

DMC, I gotta say the sound spectrum of your kit is the nicest I've ever heard on this forum. The tone of all the drums ( very well tuned too ) and all the cymbals are beautifully selected and the timbre of each piece is fantastic.
Nice playing too.

Thanks. I got some really great advice from MFB about how to improve the EQing and sound on the recording. The sound engineer is a drummer with a fabulous studio but he is learning the intricacies of miking drums and MFB is providing some great guidance.